Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Polishing Plow

One of the things we don't think much about today is how hard it was to plow in the old days before tractors and automation. It was key for the plow to be just right to minimize friction as it cut through the soil, being pulled by a mule or horses. As such, one of the chores on a farm was to keep the plow polished and greased, which you can see this guy working on.

4 comments:

What a great picture of an old time plow. I love how that leaf spring holds up the seat. You'd be bouncing all over the place in that. Not much farming experience here so I'd need a seat belt or a rope to hold me in. I'm sure I would bounce right off.

Dave 107 You have remember that the plow only went about a mile and hour or so. Remember a mule was pulling it, and they don't walk very fast.I remember that was one of my jobs after planting in the spring "putting grease on the polished plow shear" so that it didn't rust until next spring. And then using gas to wash the grease off before seeding.

My dad plowed, using a horse & mule to pull the plow & wagon. At noon & at the end of the day, as he brought the team in, he always stopped at the pool to let them drink. Then fed them, before turning them out for the night. They worked well together. I've heard commits about how unusual it was for a young horse & an old mule to work as a team so well.

About Me

I grew up in West Texas, and could not wait to get away. I got away, and went to the University of Texas, and then on to Stanford. I saw the world, and decided what I really wanted was to be in West Texas. So here I am, right back where I started. I had it all, and found it was not that great.

I have been an avid collector of old photographs and documents for over 30
years. The photographs on this site are derived from material I have collected
over the years. Some came from old family albums, some from material I bought at
flea markets over the years, and some from government archives of public domain
images, including the US Library of Congress, and the National Archives. We
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